Method and apparatus for continuously crushing and discharging carbonized and foreign substances from woolen and worsted fabrics



2,211,838 PPARA'IUS FOR CONTINUOUSLY CRUSHING AND DISCHARGING CARBONIZED AND FOREIGN SUBSTANCES FROM WOOLEN AND WORSTED FABRICS H. C. RIGGS 2 Sheets-Shae. 1

Aug. 20. 1940. IETHOD AND A l rw 8711GT.

iggs

Filed July a. less Homer G.R

A Aug. 20. 1940.

H C RGGS METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONTINUOUS LY CRUSHING AND DISCHARGING CARBONIZED AND FOREIGN SUBSTANCES FROM WOOLBN AND WORSTED FABRICS Filed July 8, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 l8 l6 Fleversing M0101:

' Timing Mechanism lnvenfcir. f-kn'new- C. Riggs 'b wwkw, Aflys.

Patented Aug. 20,1940

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONTINU- OUSLY CRUSHING AND DISCHARGING CARBONIZED AND FOREIGN SUBSTANCES FROM WOOLEN AND WORSTED FABRICS Homer- 0. Riggs, North Andover, Mass. Application July 8, I936, Serial No. 89,674

7 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in method and apparatus for crushing carbonized substances, and other foreign substances, con,- tained in woolen or worsted fabrics, and preferably also for removing the same from the material. In the preparatory treatment of wool for .use in the textile art, burrs and other vegetable impurities in many instances adhere so closely to the fibre of the wool fleece that they are not removedin the usual process of scouring. Such burrs and impurities will not take dyes with which the wool or cloth made therefrom is treated and are therefore removed by carbonization. The common method of carbonization consists in ex'- posing the cloth for a desirable period of time to the action of dilute solution of acid or to acid vapor after which the cloth is baked, thereby reducing the vegetable matter to carbon. In

many instances these impurities retain 'substantiother foreign substances from .woolen or .w'orsted' fabrics in a continuous process which. maybe operated at afar greater speed than processes heretofore empl0yed.-

The present method comprises 'continuously crushing and discharging carbonized and foreign substances from fabrics of woolen, worsted, or like material, by passing the material along a predetermined path at a. predetermined rate, applying a crushing force to the material transversely of its path of movement, and causing relative reciprocat'ions of the material a'nd the force-ap-- plying means in a direction lengthwise of the path of movement of the material.

More specifically the method comprises forwarding the fabric along a predetermined path at a predetermined rate with-a progressively advanc-.

ing reciprocating movement and applying a compressive crushing force uniformly to the material transversely of its path of movement.

In the method of continuously crushing and discharging carbonized and foreign substances from woolen or worsted fabric, the web of'fabric desirably is contracted transversely into rope form and the rope subjected repeatedly to compressive crushing forces uniformly applied transversely to the path of the rope as it is moved longitudinally with a progressively advancing reciprocating movement so that the rubbing together of the folds of cloth produced-by the transverse conof the crushed, carbonized, material,thus enabling it to be more readily discharged from the material by suction or beating.

traction of the rope will aid in the disintegration By successively contracting the cloth trans-u versely in advance of successive compressive crushing operations, the carbonized material will be reduced to finely powdered form or dust which can be readily removed from thematerial.

Suitable aparatus for performing the process above described is illustrated'in the anexed drawv ings, in which,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a preferred form of machine with the side frame removed and the end walls shown in section along vertical planes respectively passing through the apertures through which the rope of cloth is introduced and delivered from the machine;

Fig. 2 is a plan view with the upper rolls removed to illustrate more clearly the path. of the material passing through the machine; and

Fig. -3 is a vertical sectional view on lines 3-3 Fig. I, viewed from the right toward the left, the rolls and certain other parts being shown in elevation. a

The machine illustrated in the accompanying drawings comprises generally a series of pairsor upper and lower cylindrical crushing rolls presenting substantially smooth surfaces with means for guiding a web of fabric in rope form located in, advance of the bites of each pair of crushing rolls, means for-returning the rope of clothin suchmanner as to-pass through the pairs of rolls a second time, means for driving the rolls includ-' ing a time-controlled reversing motor, and scrays located at the ends of the machine to receive accumulated folds of fabric adapted to permit progressively advancing reciprocating movements of the web of fabric for exerting substantially longitudinal tension upon the fabric ,as it is passed through the crushing mechanism.

The machine illustrated in the accompanying drawings comprises metal side frames I and 2 connected at their endsby suitable metal end plates 3 and 4, which desirably are of substantial width, and which may also be connected, if desired, by suitable transverse girders (not shown).

- i A- series of lower cylindrical rolls 5 presenting smooth surfaces and having shafts or axles 6 are Journaled in suitable bearings l in the side frames, the axes of the shafts being preferably arranged in the same horizontal plane. upper cylindrical rolls 8 also presenting smooth surfaces are provided with shafts or axles 9 and are journaled in suitable bearings l0 which are slidably mounted in suitable ways in the side frames,and are held in yielding contact by springs H, the lower ends of which rest upon the bear- Complementary ings I 0, the upper ends of the springs ll engaging adjustable blocks 12 which are slldably mounted in said ways and are rotatably connected to the ends of adjusting screws l3 which are mounted 'in girders l4 extending longitudinally of the frame. The screws [3 are provided with hand wheels i5 by means of which the screws l3 may be rotated to adjust the pressure applied by the springs ii to the bearings of the upper rolls.

The lower rolls are driven by a reversing motor, I 6 which is controlled by suitable timing mechanism contained within a housing I! which may conveniently be mounted upon the base of the reversing motor.- The shaft I8 of the motor is provided with a suitable sprocket l9 which drives a chain which in turn drives a sprocket 2i fixedly secured to the shaft 6 of one of the lower rolls 5. As illustrated, the chain 20 drives one of the intermediate lower rolls.

The lower rolls are all driven at the samespeed, the shaft 6 of each roll being provided with a similar sprocket Zia: which is actuated by a chain 22 which engages all of the sprockets upon the respective shafts and which may be provided with a usual tightener (not shown) to insure-continuous engagement of the chain 22 with all of the sprockets upon the shafts of the lower rolls.

The web of fabric 23 is supplied from any suitable source, such as a truck, to driven guide rolls (not shown) from which it is delivered to a scray 24 which may be conveniently supported "upon a frame 25 in proximity to the front end of the machine. The scray is provided with a curved bottom and an upwardly inclined side leading toward the front end of the frame and the cloth passes therefrom through a suitable guide, such as a pot-eye 26 which condenses the web transversely into rope form. The rope then passes through an aperture 21 in the front plate 3 of the frame, thence between the successive pairs of cylindrical compressive crushing rolls 8 and 5. Similar guides, preferably in the form of pot-eyes 2B, are located between each pair of rolls, thereby condensing the fabric which has been flattened out during its passage between the rolls, sothat new folds are produced in-advance of each pair of rolls and the friction of the faces of the folds of fabric against each other, as the fabric .is-

passed through the successive pairs of rolls, serves further to disintegrate the carbonized material contained in the fabric. The guides or pot-eyes may be supported in any suitable manner as by brackets mounted upon the side frames and projecting a desirable distance inwardly therefrom. Desirably the fabric is passed in a straight line through the successive pairs of rolls adjacent one end thereof and after passing between the last pair of rolls of the series is guided downwardly around the lower roll. thence forwardly through a series of pot-eyes 29 arranged to carry the'rope of cloth diagonally of the machine and over the lower roll near its opposite end, thereby causing the rope to pass again between the upper and lower rolls of the first pair, and thence between the upper and lower rolls of the succeeding pairs.-

Suitable guides or pot-eyes 30 are located in advance of each pair of rolls and again condense the fabric laterally as it approaches each pair of rolls. The fabric is finally delivered from the last pair of rolls through a guide, preferably a poteye 3|, to a scray 32 mounted upon a suitable frame 33. The cloth is delivered from the scray through a pair of driven rolls 34 and 35 to a suitable reel, receptacle or conveyer (not shown).

In order to remove the pulverized carbonized material means are provided for producing a suction which will act upon the material as it passes from one pair of rolls to the next. In the preferred construction a hopper is provided which preferably comprises sheet metal sides 38 and 31, the upper edges of which are secured to the side frames and which converge downwardly and communicate with the tubular conduit 38 which leads to the eye of a fan 39, so that the draft produced by the fan through the hopper wil1 remove the fine carbonized material which drops into the conduit 38 and will also provide a suction throughout the machine which will aid in removing the carbonized material from the fabric.

While the machine above described is particularly designed and adapted for removing carbonized material from a rope of fabric, it will be understood that the web of fabric may be passed through the machine in flat form, with suitable guides in advance of the respective pairs of rolls, or that the machine may be adapted to treat slivers of wool or worsted or even yarn in the manner above described.

The reversing motor is provided with controlling mechanism which causes the motor to rotate a predetermined number of times in a direction to advance the material forwardly and then reverse automatically for a predetermined lesser number of revolutions, so that the fabric is reciprocated back and forth between the rolls with a progressively advancing movement, thereby causing the material to pass several times through the bite of each pair of rolls, for example, the motor may be so controlled as to rotate the rolls fifteen revolutions in a direction to advance the material, then automatically reverse and rotate the rolls ten revolutions in a direction to retract the material, then again reverse and rotate the rolls fifteen revolutions in a direction to advance the material and so on thereby giving a net advancing movement of the fabric corresponding to five revolutions of the rolls.

A suitable timed reversing motor which has been successfully employed as above described is a Westinghouse type C W three-phase slip ring motor, forty-cycle, five hundred fifty volt, having an automatically time-operated reversing switch provided with a replaceable cam by means of which the timing of the reversing motor may be adjusted.

- By the substitution of suitable cams in the controlling mechanism for the reversing motor,

I which may be of a usual type, any desired speed of delivery of the material may be provided. Inasmuch as the scrays at the opposite ends of the machine permit the accumulation of a number of folds of the fabric, no. substantial tension is placed upon the web of fabric by the reversal of movement of the web and inasmuch as the net advancing movement of the web is uniform the rolls, which feed the material to the machines and which deliver it from the machine, maybe driven at a predetermined constant speed corresponding to the net advancing movement of the material.

By reason of .this construction therefore continuous crushing and discharging of carbonized and foreign substances from the material will be produced and by uniting the successive webs of fabric end to end the process may be carried on any desired length of time.

The operation of the machine is much faster and more efiicient than that of usual machines and processes heretofore employed for the purpose of crushing and discharging the carbonized and foreign substances from woolen and worsted materials and fabrics. Furthermore, as each unit of length of the fabric is repeatedly acted upon in the manner above described a more uniform and complete removal of the carbonized material is effected than in previous machines and processes.

It will be understood that the apparatus particularly shown and described herein is of an illustrative character and not restrictive and that various modifications may be made within the spirit and scope of the following claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is:

1. The method of continuously crushing and discharging carbonized and foreign substances from woolen or worsted fabric, which comprises contracting the fabric into ropeform, forwarding said rope material along a predetermined path at a predetermined rate, successively applying compressive crushing forces at predetermined spaced intervals to said rope transversely of its length re-forming the material into rope form between each crushing operation and causing relative reciprocating movements of said rope and said force-applying means in a direction lengthwise of said rope. v

2. A machine for continuously crushing carbonized and foreign substances contained in woolen or worsted fabrics, which comprises a set of smooth, cylindrical crushing rolls having cylindrical surfaces, guiding means located in front of said rolls for contracting the material into rope form and guiding the same to the bite of said rolls, means for ro'tatingsaid rolls alternately in forward and reverse directions so timed as to reciprocate the material in the bite of the rolls and progressively to. advance the material at a predetermined rate.

3. A machine for continuously crushing carbonized material and foreign substances contained in woolen or worsted fabrics, which comprises a frame, a series of sets of cooperating smooth, cylindrical crushing. rolls mounted in said frame-at predetermined spaced intervals, means in front of each set of-crushing rolls forcontracting the material and guiding the same .bonized material and foreign substances. confor alternately rotating all of said sets of rollsin directions to reciprocate said material simultaneously through the bites of all of said rolls and so timed as progressively to advance the material at a predetermined rate, a housing beneath said sets of rolls, and means for producing'a sue tion of air through said housing to remove and discharge. the crushed carbonized and foreign substances from said material.

5. A machine for crushing and removing carbonizing and foreign substances from a web of woolen or worsted fabric, and the like, which comprises a frame, a series of pairs of upper and lower cooperating cylindrical crushing rolls mounted thereon rotatable about horizontal axes lying respectively in the same horizontal planes and spaced apart, pot-eyes in front of each set of rolls for contracting and guiding the fabric in rope form to the bites of the respective pairs of. rolls, means for alternately rotating'all of said pairs of rollsin forward and reverse directions so timed as to reciprocate said web through the bites of the respective pairs of rolls and progressively to advance said web at a predetermined rate, means for freely supplying the fabric to the first set of rolls, a scray positioned to receive and collect the fabric delivered from the last pair of rolls, and means for continuously with-- drawing said web of fabric from said scray' at lying respectively inthe same horizontal planes and spaced apart, pot-eyes in front of each set of rolls for contracting and guiding the fabric in rope form to the bites of the respective pairs of rolls, means for guiding the rope of fabric from below the lower roll of the last set diagonally beneath said rolls to the bite of the rolls of the first set, and pot-eyes intermediate of said pairs of rolls for guiding the rope to the bite of the respective rolls whereby the rope will be passed again through the bites of each pair of rolls, means for alternately rotating all of said pairs of rolls in forward and reverse directions sotimed as to reciprocate said web through the bites of the respective sets of rolls and progressively to advance said web at a predetermined rate.

'7. A machine for crushing and removing carbonized and foreign substances from a. web of woolen or worsted fabric, and the like, which comprises a frame, a series of pairs of upper and lower cooperating crushing cylindrical rolls mounted thereon rotatable about horizontal axes lying respectively in the same horizontal planes and spaced apart, pot-eyes in front of each set of rolls for contracting and guiding the fabric in rope form to the bites of the respective pairs of rolls, means for guiding the rope of fabric from below the lower roll of the last set diagonally beneath said rolls to the bite of the rolls of the first set, and pot-eyes intermediate of said pairs of rolls for guiding the rope to the bite of the respective rolls whereby the rope will be passed again through the bites of each pair of rolls, means for alternately rotating all of said pairs of rollsin forward and reverse directions so timed as to'reciprocate said web through the bites of the respective sets of rollsand progressively to advance said'web at a predetermined rate, and scrays located respectively in front of the first pair of rolls andrearwardly of the second pair of rolls to receive the web of fabric and operable to permit reciprocation of the fabric .betweensaid rolls without imposing substantial tension thereupon.

HOMER 0. areas. 

